The Ålfotbreen

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...

is located in

Vestland Vestland is a county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the city of Bergen, whe ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The glacier is located on the border of three municipalities in the

Nordfjord Nordfjord ( en, Northern fjord—in contrast to Sunnfjord) is a traditional district of Norway. Geography The region is located in the northern part of Vestland county in Western Norway. It centers on the Nordfjorden and it comprises the muni ...

region:

Bremanger Bremanger is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village of Svelgen is the administrative centre of the municipality. Other villages include Bremanger, Berle, Davik, Isane, Kalvåg, Svelgen, Rugsund, and Ålfoten. Bremanger i ...

Kinn Kinn is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It was established on 1 January 2020. It is in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional districts of Nordfjord and Sunnfjord. The municipality is the on ...

, and

Gloppen Gloppen is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. Gloppen is generally subdivided into three areas: Hyen in the west, Gloppen in the center, and Breim in the east. Each of the ...

. It is located west of the village of

Hyen Straume or Hyen is a village in Gloppen Municipality in Vestland, Norway. The village lies near the southern end of the Hyefjorden near the mouths of the rivers Åelva and Hopelva. Straume is located about northeast of the lake Eimhjellevatn ...

, south of the village of Ålfoten, and east of the village of Svelgen. The glacier reaches an elevation of at its highest point. The area surrounding the glacier, closer to the Nordfjorden, is one of the wettest places in Norway, getting an average of of rainfall each year. The heavy precipitation keeps the glacier very healthy with an average thickness of . On 9 January 2009, the area surrounding the glacier, the glacier itself, and the nearby Gjegnalundsbreen glacier, were preserved as a landscape protection area by the

Norwegian government The politics of Norway take place in the framework of a parliamentary, representative democratic constitutional monarchy. Executive power is exercised by the Council of State, the cabinet, led by the prime minister of Norway. Legislative power ...

. Mass balance measurements have been performed at the glacier since 1963 by the

Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate ( no, Norges vassdrags- og energidirektorat or NVE) is a Norwegian government agency established in 1921. It is under the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and regulates the country's water re ...

(NVE).

References

Glaciers of Vestland Gloppen Bremanger Kinn {{Vestland-geo-stub

See also

References